The Price of Friday Nights

twelve

I WOKE UP IN A DAZE to the beeping of my heart monitor and the shuffling of the night shift nurses all around me. I head hurt like a bitch, but I could hardly get my memories straight, so I had no recollection of what I did to get my in this mess. 

I looked down at my arm and saw that the IV had been in long enough to form a sickly purple looking bruise on my right arm. My left wrist however was wrapped tightly with bandages, something I also didn't understand. 

As I scanned my surroundings, and saw that my mom was curled up on the couch next to my bed fast asleep, still wearing her scrubs from her shift. How long was I out?

"Mom?" I managed to rasp out quietly. "Mom?"

Stirring from her sleep she groggily replied, "Oh sweetheart, thank goodness you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"It could be worse... but wait what happened?" I asked.

"Your stunt fell because a football hit one of you friends. You suffered a concussion from your fall, and you fell unconscious right away." She replied tenderly, "you may continue to have this confusion but it should wear off... but that headache you're nursing, well that might take longer to heal. Your brain is still a little swollen."

I groaned training my eyes to the water jug on my table, "So does that mean no cheerleading?"

"It means no physical activities at all." She reprimanded, "and take it easy with studying, it's going to hurt."

Never in my life, would I have guessed that those words would come out of my mothers mouth. I chuckled to myself.

The door creaked and I adverted my eyes up to the sound and saw Tyler standing in the hallway. My mom followed my gaze, and quickly stood up.

"Hi Tyler, How are you? She's still groggy, so don't stay for too long okay?" My mom told him.

"Alright Mrs. Jacobs. Thank you." He replied politely, before walking into the room. 

"So Jacobs, you took a hard hit out there." He spoke up.

"Yeah, not that I remember any of it though." I replied with a scoff.

"That bad huh?" He said quietly. "Well, I got to go, but I just wanted to check in to see if you were okay. Because I'm captain, and one of my men was the partial cause to your accident, so damage control you know?"

I was gob smacked. Not only was my head still reeling from the concussion, but it was being thrown like a frisbee because I just didn't get it. How could a person change so fast in such a short amount of time. It's not like it's the first time that's happened too, it's been a recurring theme over the past weeks. 

"Damage control?" I asked astounded, "So this is about reputation and keeping up the looks... not about being a good person and checking up on a girl? Typical. Thanks for your visit, it was not appreciated." 

He said nothing, and quickly shuffled out of the room, leaving me seething with anger. Great.

***

"So Homecoming's coming up soon?" Mel questioned without looking up from the foot off my bed.

"I mean yeah." I replied nonchalantly.

"Why aren't you excited?" Amy peeked up from her phone.

Homecoming, the place where the whole school comes together, drinking punch that's almost entirely sugar, and pretending that cliques aren't a thing. Well of course I wanted to go, but what's the point when you have to go alone? I didn't even have a good enough guy friend to go with. Amy had Jake, and Mel had Logan, I didn't want to be a fifth wheel.

"It's not that, I just don't have a date..." I replied, "I just... Oh wait I'm getting a call hold on."

I picked up my vibrating phone and checked the caller ID. It was a blocked call, but I took it anyways.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver. No response. "Hello?" I asked once more.

The only sound that came out of my phone was the sound of the static, and right when I was about to press the end call button, I heard the most sharp intake of breath and the call ended before I had the chance to register it as anything.

"Who was that?" Mel asked, "you have the weirdest looks on your face."

"Um" I stuttered, "Not..nothing, don't worry about it. You know what, I'll go to Homecoming alone. Yeah, when should we go dress shopping?" 

Amy and Mel exchanged a quizzical look, before Mel nodded, "Yeah sure! Let's go this week, when you're out of the hospital?"

I smiled meekly at her, "Yeah sounds good."

I looked out the window at the palm trees swaying outside my room. Homecoming, what a concept. 

A/N: SOOO this is kinda a suckish chapter... BUT this will segway into something else I promise! This will go somewhere!

I hope you all keep sticking with me. Please comment, vote, and give some love! It really will help me out with the rest of the story! SEE Y'ALL NEXT TIME!

xo Nikki